Orlando

gga

Another literary fantasy novel. AFter the disappointments of
Jordan, Martin and, most of all, Feist, I’m happy
to be looking to Marquez, Updike and now Woolf for
my fantasy fix. As I’ve said before, any story is by definition a
fantasy, so why restrict your scope to only the events that can take
place in this prosaic world we are trapped in? Sure, there’s a place
for the great everyday; but fantasy can be so much fun!

And given how dry Woolf is, it’s surprising to see how fun Orlando
can be. There are two key elements of fantasy here: Orlando (the
character) lives for a very long time, and there’s a second question
of gender… The age question is handled interestingly. There’s never
a discussion of this, Orlando just keeps on living, aging at a
different rate to everyone else around.

This disconnect from reality creates a dreamy, flowing world: the
story reads like a lyric poem: drifting from image to image guided by
your narrator, Orlando. And then towards the end it starts to coalesce
on but two points. But slowly, like a willow emerging from the
mist. Left wondering if those were always there, you float past.